The latest quarterly statistics on net migration have been released today with some interesting news in the Tier 1 category. This blog will look at what the statistics show about Tier 1 Entrepreneur and Investor applications.

Entrepreneurs

In the First Quarter of 2016, 214 Tier 1 (Entrepreneur) migrants were granted Entry Clearance for the UK. The country with the largest number of Entrepreneurs was China.

Country

Number of Entrepreneurs granted Entry Clearance

China

43

Pakistan

18

Hong Kong

14

USA

13

Australia

12

Russia

12

India

12

Iran

11

Korea

11

Egypt

10

The statistics show that in Quarter 1 of 2016, there were 418 Entry Clearance Entrepreneur applications made, and in this period 432 applications resolved. Of these 214 were granted and 216 were refused. This is a 50% refusal rate for Entry Clearance applications.

The refusal rate for Entry Clearance applications has increased since this time last year, when 46% of applications were refused in 2015 Q1. However, the number of applications being made has decreased – falling from 529 to 418.

For in country applications, there were 748 decisions made in the first quarter of 2016, and of these only 324 were grants of further leave. This means that 57% of in country applications were refused. Since this time last year, there has been an increase in both the number of decisions made per quarter and the percentage of those decisions which were refused. The number of decisions has risen tfrom 687 to 748, while the percentage refused in 2015 Q1 was only 46%, in comparison to the 57% refused now.

Investors

In the first quarter of 2016, 42 Investors were granted Entry Clearance for the UK.

Country

Number of Investors granted Entry Clearance

China

12

Russia

7

Israel

3

United States

2

India

2

Kazakhstan

2

Saudi Arabia

2

Kuwait

2

The statistics show that there were 42 Tier 1 Investor visa applications made in the last quarter, with 50 Tier 1 Investor visa applications resolved in the same time period. Of these 50, 42 were granted and 5 refused. This is a grant rate of 84% and a refusal rate of 10%. The number of applications for Entry Clearance as a Tier 1 Investor has risen slightly since this time last year when there were 39 applications and 80% were successful.

For in country applications as a Tier 1 Investor, there have been 143 decisions in the last quarter with 134 grants and only 9 refused. This is a refusal rate of 6%, which is just over half the previous quarter.

China and Russia

In 2015, we saw a drop in both Tier 1 Investor and Tier 1 Entrepreneur applications, particularly from China. However, China has seen an increase in both Investor and Entrepreneur visa applications in the latest quarter.

Period

Investors from China

Entrepreneurs from China

2015 Q1

11

49

2015 Q2

6

30

2015 Q3

9

12

2015 Q4

8

17

2016 Q1

12

43

Russia, on the other hand, has seen a decrease in both Investors and Entrepreneurs granted.

Period

Investors from Russia

Entrepreneurs from Russia

2015 Q1

12

26

2015 Q2

10

15

2015 Q3

9

12

2015 Q4

8

19

2016 Q1

7

12

Conclusions

The main conclusions that we can draw from these statistics are:

Despite some people predicting that the number of Tier 1 Investors would not be affected by the increase in funds required, numbers of applications have not returned to the pre-November 2014 levels;

Over half of Tier 1 Entrepreneur applications made in the UK are refused;

Previous predictions suggested that the in-country refusal rate was skewed by PSW switching applicants, but types of applications should not be affecting figures now;

There is a substantial risk that an Entrepreneur entering the category will not be able to successfully extend their stay or settle in the UK.

Contact Us

If you would like further advice or assistance with preparing a Tier 1 Entrepreneur or Tier 1 Investor application please contact our immigration barristers on 0203 617 9173 or info@richmondchambers.com.

Expert advice & representation from immigration barristers that you can rely on.

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